DETAILED ACTION
Remarks
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This Office Action is responsive to the preliminary amendment field on 12/13/2023. Claims 1-4, 6-7, 9, 11, 16-26, and 31, of which claims 1, 17 and 23 are independent, were pending in this application and have been considered below.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of the Applicant's indication of National Stage entry from the International Application No. PCT/CN2021/101631 field on 06/22/2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The references cited on the information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/13/2023, 10/21/2024, 02/28/2025, and 01/09/2026 have been considered and made of record by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
"A claim is anticipated only if each and every element as set forth in the claim is found, either expressly or inherently described, in a single prior art reference." Verdegaal Bros. v. Union Oil Co. of California, 814 F.2d 628,631, 2 USPQ2d 1051, 1053 (Fed. Cir. 1987). "When a claim covers several structures or compositions, either generically or as alternatives, the claim is deemed anticipated if any of the structures or compositions within the scope of the claim is known in the prior art." Brown v. 3M, 265 F.3d 1349, 1351, 60 USPQ2d 1375, 1376 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (claim to a system for setting a computer clock to an offset time to address the Year 2000 (Y2K) problem, applicable to records with year date data in "at least one of two-digit, three-digit, or four-digit" representations, was held anticipated by a system that offsets year dates in only two-digit formats). See also MPEP § 2131.02. "The identical invention must be shown in as complete detail as is contained in the … claim." Richardson v. Suzuki Motor Co., 868 F.2d 1226, 1236, 9 USPQ2d 1913, 1920 (Fed. Cir. 1989). The elements must be arranged as required by the claim, but this is not an ipsissimis verbis test, i.e., identity of terminology is not required. In re Bond, 910 F.2d 831, 15 USPQ2d 1566 (Fed. Cir. 1990). Note that, in some circumstances, it is permissible to use multiple references in a 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection. See MPEP § 2131.01. ("(A) Prove a primary reference contains an "enabled disclosure;" (B) Explain the meaning of a term used in the primary reference; or (C) Show that a characteristic not disclosed in the reference is inherent.").
Claims 1-3, 16-20, 23-26, and 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2022/0377666 A1 to Shi et al.
Regarding claim 1, Shi et al. disclose a subgroup paging method (Fig. 4: “402: determining grouping rule information on a set of UE grouping rules for WUS supported in a BS”), performed by a terminal, comprising:
receiving configuration information for subgroup paging (Fig. 6: 600; ¶[0085]: “As shown in FIG. 6, configuration information on grouping rule, e.g., the grouping rule information on a set of UE grouping rules for WUS supported in a BS can be received from the BS via SIB in step 600.”);
wherein the configuration information is at least configured to indicate that a network supports or does not support the terminal to determine subgroup information for paging in a predetermined manner (¶[0059]: “A BS may support a plurality of group rules by independent WUS sequences, for example, group IDs from 0 to 3 can be used under the UE-ID-based grouping rule, group IDs from 4 to 7 can be used under the paging probability-information-based grouping rule. However, the UE grouping rules supported in the BS, or in the radio access network (RAN) side may be different from that supported in the UE side. For example, a BS may support a paging-probability-information-based grouping rule, while a UE may not support the paging-probability-information-based grouping rule due to its capability or due to the MME of the UE cannot get the paging probability information of the UE at all.”); and the subgroup information for paging is configured for the terminal to monitor a paging message (¶[0043]: “During a paging process, only UE(s) within the specific group may monitor a paging message in the PO(s) based on the detected the specific WUS, while other UEs not included in this specific group will not monitor the paging message in the PO(s) based on the specific WUS.”).
Regarding claim 17, Shi et al. disclose a subgroup paging method (Fig. 4: “402: determining grouping rule information on a set of UE grouping rules for WUS supported in a BS”), performed by a base station, comprising:
sending configuration information for subgroup paging to a terminal (Fig. 6: 600; ¶[0085]: “As shown in FIG. 6, configuration information on grouping rule, e.g., the grouping rule information on a set of UE grouping rules for WUS supported in a BS can be received from the BS via SIB in step 600.”);
wherein the configuration information is at least configured to indicate that a network supports or does not support the terminal to determine subgroup information for paging in a predetermined manner (¶[0059]: “A BS may support a plurality of group rules by independent WUS sequences, for example, group IDs from 0 to 3 can be used under the UE-ID-based grouping rule, group IDs from 4 to 7 can be used under the paging probability-information-based grouping rule. However, the UE grouping rules supported in the BS, or in the radio access network (RAN) side may be different from that supported in the UE side. For example, a BS may support a paging-probability-information-based grouping rule, while a UE may not support the paging-probability-information-based grouping rule due to its capability or due to the MME of the UE cannot get the paging probability information of the UE at all.”); and the subgroup information for paging is configured for the terminal to monitor a paging message (¶[0043]: “During a paging process, only UE(s) within the specific group may monitor a paging message in the PO(s) based on the detected the specific WUS, while other UEs not included in this specific group will not monitor the paging message in the PO(s) based on the specific WUS.”).
Regarding claim 23, Shi et al. disclose a subgroup paging method, performed (Fig. 4: “402: determining grouping rule information on a set of UE grouping rules for WUS supported in a BS”) by a core network device, comprising:
issuing configuration information for subgroup paging (Fig. 6: 600; ¶[0085]: “As shown in FIG. 6, configuration information on grouping rule, e.g., the grouping rule information on a set of UE grouping rules for WUS supported in a BS can be received from the BS via SIB in step 600.”);
wherein the configuration information is at least configured to indicate that a network supports or does not support the terminal to determine subgroup information for paging in a predetermined manner (¶[0059]: “A BS may support a plurality of group rules by independent WUS sequences, for example, group IDs from 0 to 3 can be used under the UE-ID-based grouping rule, group IDs from 4 to 7 can be used under the paging probability-information-based grouping rule. However, the UE grouping rules supported in the BS, or in the radio access network (RAN) side may be different from that supported in the UE side. For example, a BS may support a paging-probability-information-based grouping rule, while a UE may not support the paging-probability-information-based grouping rule due to its capability or due to the MME of the UE cannot get the paging probability information of the UE at all.”; ¶¶[0058]-[0061]); and the subgroup information for paging is configured for the terminal to monitor a paging message (¶[0043]: “During a paging process, only UE(s) within the specific group may monitor a paging message in the PO(s) based on the detected the specific WUS, while other UEs not included in this specific group will not monitor the paging message in the PO(s) based on the specific WUS.”).
Regarding claims 2, 18 and 24, Shi et al. disclose as stated above. Shi et al. also disclose wherein the predetermined manner comprises one or more of:
a first predetermined manner of receiving subgroup information for paging which is allocated by the network (¶[0087]: "the capability information on grouping rules can include information on the priority of grouping rules in the UE, which ... is predefined.”); and
a second predetermined manner of randomly selecting subgroup information for paging, wherein in the second predetermined manner, the terminal determines the subgroup information for paging by a modulo operation on a user equipment identification (UE-ID).
Regarding claims 3, 19 and 25, Shi et al. disclose as stated above. Shi et al. also disclose wherein the subgroup information for paging comprises one or more of:
identification of a subgroup for paging which is allocated by the network (¶[0085]: "The grouping rule information shown in Table 1 explicitly indicates that groups 4-9 are used for paging-probability-information-based grouping rule, while implicitly indicates that other groups are used for UE-ID-based grouping rule.");
paging probability information of the terminal being paged, that is determined by the network (¶[0085]: "the grouping rule information may indicate that the paging probability zone for each group is as Table 1."); and
probability level information of a paging probability of the terminal being paged, that is determined by the network (¶[0085]: "the grouping rule information may indicate that the paging probability zone for each group is as Table 1.").
Regarding claims 16 and 20, Shi et al. disclose as stated above. Shi et al. also disclose wherein receiving the configuration information for the subgroup paging comprises:
receiving the configuration information sent by a base station via a broadcast message (¶[0085]: "As shown in FIG. 6, configuration information on grouping rule, e.g., the grouping rule information on a set of UE grouping rules for WUS supported in a BS can be received from the BS via SIB in step 600.") {i.e., broadcasted in system information block (SIB)}; or receiving the configuration information sent by a base station via a dedicated message.
Regarding claim 26, Shi et al. disclose as stated above. Shi et al. also disclose wherein issuing the configuration information for the subgroup paging comprises:
issuing the configuration information for the subgroup paging by using a non- access stratum (NAS) message (¶[0091]: "the received configuration information ... can be received from an MME by the NAS procedure.”); or
sending the configuration information to a base station by using a NG interface setup request message or a NG interface setup response message.
Regarding claim 31, Shi et al. disclose as stated above. Shi et al. also disclose a communication device (Fig. 7: “700”), comprising:
a processor (Fig. 7: “PROCESSOR 705”); and
a memory (Fig. 7: “NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READ ABLE MEMORY”) storing instructions executable by the processor (¶[0097]: “The nontransitory computer-readable medium 707 has computer executable instructions stored therein.”); wherein the processor is configured to perform the method (¶[0098]: “the non-transitory computer-readable medium 707 may have stored thereon computer-executable instructions to cause a processor to implement the method according to embodiments of the present application.”) .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 6-7, 9, 11, and 21-22 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Conclusion
Examiner's note: As applied to the claims above, the specific columns, line numbers, and figures in the references has been cited for the Applicant’s convenience. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to the particular limitations within the individual claims, other passages and figures may apply as well. The Applicant is respectfully requested to fully consider the references, in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner, in preparing responses. Applicant(s) are reminded that MPEP 2123 I. states: “The use of patents as references is not limited to what the patentees describe as their own inventions or to the problems with which they are concerned. They are part of the literature of the art, relevant for all they contain.” In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33, 216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006, 1009, 158 USPQ 275, 277 (CCPA 1968)). A reference may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill the art, including nonpreferred embodiments. Merck & Co. v. Biocraft Laboratories, 874 F.2d 804, 10 USPQ2d 1843 (Fed. Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 975 (1989).
Reliance on the US Pre-Grant Publication (PG PUB) of this application, which is not part of the image file wrapper of the patent application, in the prosecution is improper. All references in the reply to the office action are to be made to the latest version on record of the patent application as filed not as published. The latest version on record of the patent application means the patent application as originally filed and modified by previously entered amendment(s).
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. Nader et al. (US 2024/0155559 A1) disclose a group paging method, performed by a terminal, comprising: receiving configuration information for subgroup paging (¶[0145]: “In one embodiment, the RAN node may utilize custom PO allocation via tailored UE ID allocation. The UEs may be allocated to different POs, where each PO may have an optimized PDCCH AL and PDSCH TF. For example, URLLC devices that need lower coding rate for robustness, may be grouped together, or UEs with common good or poor link quality may be grouped together.”); Bachmann et al. (US 2013/0136072 A1) is equivalent and trustworthy translation of the IDS cited Foreign application No. EP 2369883 A1; Shi et al. (US 2022/0377666 A1) is equivalent and trustworthy translation of the IDS cited Foreign application No. WO 2021/062671 A1; Chang et al. (US 2022/0095226 A1) is equivalent and trustworthy translation of the IDS cited Foreign application No. WO 2020/114483 A1.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Nader Bolourchi whose telephone number is (571) 272-8064. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:30 to 4:30.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Hannah S. Wang, SPE can be reached on (571) 272-9018. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/Nader Bolourchi/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2631